Fabric Filter Material

Table 4-1. Typical fabrics used for bags

Generic
name

Fiber

Maximum temperature

Continuous

Acid
resistance

Alkali
resistance

Flex
abrasion
resistance

Relative
cost

Surges

Natural fiber
cellulose

Cotton

180

82

225

107

poor

excellent

average

0.4

Polyolefin

Polypropylene

190

88

200

93

excellent

excellent

good

0.5

Natural fiber
protein

Wool

200

93

250

121

good

poor

average

0.8

Polyamide

Nylon

200

93

250

121

poor to fair

excellent

excellent

0.6

Acrylic

Orlon

240

116

260

127

very good

fair

average

0.7

Polyester

Dacron

275

135

325

163

good

fair

excellent

0.5

Aromatic
polyamide

Nomex

400

204

425

218

fair

very good

very good

2.0

Fluorocarbon

Teflon

450

232

500

260

excellent
except
poor for
fluorine

excellent
except
poor for
trifluoride,
chlorine,
and
molten
alkaline
metals

fair

6.7

Glass

Fiberglas
or glass

500

260

550

288

good

poor

poor to fair

1.0

Polymer

P84

450

232

500

260

good

fair

fair

2.5

Polymer

Ryton

375

191

450

232

excellent

excellent

good

2.5-4.0

Sources: McKenna and Turner 1989.

Greiner 1993.

Fabric Treatment
Fabrics are usually pretreated to improve their mechanical and dimensional stability. They can
be treated with silicone to give them better cake release properties. Natural fabrics (wool and
cotton) are usually preshrunk to eliminate bag shrinkage during operation. Both synthetic and
natural fabrics usually undergo processes such as calendering, napping, singeing, glazing, or
coating.
These processes increase fabric life, improve dimensional stability (so that the bags retain
their shape or fit after long use), and facilitate bag cleaning.
Calendering is the high pressure pressing of the fabric by rollers to flatten or smooth the
material. Calendering pushes the surface fibers down onto the body of the filter medium. This
is done to increase surface life and dimensional stability and to give a more uniform surface to
bag fabric.
Napping is the scraping of the filter surface across metal points or burrs on a revolving
cylinder. Napping raises the surface fibers, creating a "fuzz", that provides a large number of

2.0-3/95

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